


Useless

by 4thofFive



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-22
Updated: 2015-02-22
Packaged: 2018-03-14 14:57:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3414989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/4thofFive/pseuds/4thofFive
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes Steve goes too far.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Useless

**Author's Note:**

> One of my usual Steve does or says something thoughtless stories and then has to apologize later. My Steve isn't as perfect as the guy on the show.

Danny felt his arm break the moment he crashed into Kimura at third base. It hurt. A lot. He may have screamed but he would deny doing so. Instead he did a much manlier thing and grabbed his floppy arm and rolled around on the ball diamond trying not to cry.

It was only Grace running up looking panicked and horrified that caused him to get himself under control and try not to look like he was going to faint or throw up.

“Danno!” Grace shrieked at the sight of his arm bent at an unusual angle.

“It’s ok Monkey. I broke my arm but it’s not too bad.”

“It’s hanging all weird,” Grace gasped, the blood draining from her face.

“Just look away, ok baby? It’s fine. Danno’s fine.”

By this time Danny was surrounded by the HPD members of his softball team. Most of them stood around staring – and wasn’t that a comfort? Cops who stood staring when you needed help – but a couple were helping Danny brace his arm and lifting him to his feet. 

“I’m calling Uncle Steve,” Grace announced firmly, pulling her cell phone from the back pocket of her jeans.

“No!” Danny barked then immediately regretted the startled look on his baby’s face. “I mean, no, don’t bother sweetie,” Danny continued in a quieter tone of voice. “Uncle Steve is…busy tonight. I think he’s out. We don’t want to disturb him. Sergeant Keao here can take me to the hospital won’t you Sarge?”

Keao, a burly, taciturn Hawaiian traffic officer, nodded once and took Danny by the good arm to lead him towards the parking lot while Grace trailed along behind them.

Danny felt bad about lying to his daughter about Steve. The truth was he didn’t know if Steve was busy or not – but considering the way women flocked around him, it wouldn't take much for Steve to get busy. But it was times like this, when Danny or any member of the team was injured, that Steve was at his most…protective.

Danny had no doubt that if Grace phoned Steve the SEAL would come roaring to the playing field, lights flashing and sirens screaming. He'd probably drive his Silverado up onto the grass and Danny wouldn’t put it past his partner to pick Danny up in his arms and carry him to the truck like an infant. While that kind of intense concern was nice when you were badly hurt or in danger, it was a bit much when 10 of HPD’s finest were standing around with smirks on their faces watching your over protective partner treat you like a china doll. No, Danny had his dignity. And cops were worse gossips than most teenagers.

Steve, of course, would be furious that he wasn’t contacted immediately since he needed to know what was happening to the members of his team at all times day and night, but Danny would handle that. He could out yell Steve any day of the week.

With Keao’s help, Danny climbed into the front seat of the big man’s surprisingly small Prius. He allowed the Sergeant to help him clip on his seat belt as Gracie got into the back seat and did the same.

“What about your car Danno?”

“I’m sure Uncle Steve won’t mind picking it up tomorrow. You know how much he loves driving that car.”

Grace nodded and giggled.

**********

Danny had hoped he could sneak into the Five-0 offices and sink into a cup of coffee before being grilled about the cast on his arm but no such luck. Kono noticed the blue cast and the sling it was resting in the moment he walked in.

“Brah!” Kono called out, hurrying over to inspect his damaged wing. “What happened?”

Danny shrugged slightly. 

“Broke it playing baseball last night. Tried to steal third but hit the baseman instead.”

“Ouch,” Kono offered sympathetically. 

Of course the young woman’s concern had attracted the attention of Chin and Lou who also came over to inspect the cast and demand an explanation.

“Does Steve know?” Lou inquired after Danny had finished retelling his story.

“No, I didn’t want to bother him last night. One of the cops on my team took me to the hospital.”

Chin shook his head in dismay.

“That’s not going to go over well.”

Lou chewed his bottom lip worriedly.

“Especially because of the raid planned for this morning.

“Oh shit,” Danny hissed, sagging against the tech table. “I forgot.”

For two weeks the Five-0 team had been tracking a gang of human traffickers allegedly headed by a particularly brutal Chinese Tong chief named Jian Kwan who masqueraded as a mild mannered grandfather who owned a series of dry cleaning businesses. Two days ago they’d received intel that their young victims were being held in a warehouse on Lagoon Drive. They’d staked the place out and were now certain it was where the group was holed up. Steve had planned today’s raid down to the last second and Danny was to lead the team breaching the building from the rear.

The thing was that human trafficking cases hit Steve particularly hard. He took all crime seriously because he was nuts that way, but human trafficking made him particularly crazy. The whole team, and any human being with a conscience, hated human trafficking but Steve seemed to take it particularly personally and he’d been stalking around Five-0 headquarters looking like a thundercloud and growling for the past few days. Danny did not look forward to having to put a kink in his partner’s plans and, yes, ok, maybe he hated to disappoint the stupid giant.

“Well…I can still go. I can shoot ok with my left hand and…”

“Danny don’t be ridiculous,” Kono scoffed. “You can’t go on the raid after just breaking your arm.”

“Steve would,” the blond detective replied mulishly.

“Well Steve is…Steve,” Chin replied dryly. “He’s Superman – or so he imagines. Trying to stop him from doing something dumb is like trying to stop a freight train by putting a plastic pop bottle on the tracks.”

As if they were all speaking of the devil, the main doors to headquarters flew open and Steve marched in wearing his tac vest, two thigh holsters and a look of barely controlled blood lust on his face.

“Alright everybody, saddle up. We move in 10 minu…” Steve’s voice faded away as he caught sight of Danny’s casted arm in a sling. He stood staring at it, then his partner for a moment, as if the blond man was playing some sort of sick practical joke on him.

“Danny? What the fuck?”

Danny gave his partner a cool smile.

“Good morning Steven. I had a little accident last night.”

“I can see that,” snarled Steve, folding his arms on his chest. “What the hell happened?” Steve stopped what he was about to say and shook his head. “Forget it. I don’t want to know. But what the fuck are we supposed to do now, huh? I planned this operation with each of the five of us leading teams.”

“Steven…” Danny tried to be patient.

“Jesus Christ what a mess,” Steve snarled, turning to pace a few steps away from the group.

“Do you want me to call HPD and see if Duke can take Danny’s spot?” Kono asked, anxious to defuse the situation.

Steve snorted and threw both hands out to the side.

“You might as well. Danny is fucking useless.”

Danny sucked in a shocked breath and flinched visibly. It felt like Steve had punched him and he thought it would have hurt less if he had, especially with his team mates throwing shocked and pitying looks at him.

“Steve…” began Grover but the SEAL ignored him and jerked his head towards the main doors. “We go now. Lou you’re with me. Chin and Kono you’re together. Kono call Duke from the car. Let’s move people.”

Grover grabbed his vest from the tech table, threw one sympathetic look at Danny, and hurried after Steve who was already half-way out the door. Chin and Kono turned to Danny, both obviously casting about for something to say.

“Go,” Danny encouraged, waving towards the door. “Don’t keep Super SEAL waiting. I’m fine. I’ll monitor from here. Let me know if you need anything.”

With a quick, wary glance at each other the cousins also grabbed their tac vests and jogged out of the office. 

Danny stood in the middle of the bullpen staring after them.

**********

“Detective Williams?”

Danny looked up from his desk to see a very young, diffident looking police officer standing in his office doorway looking too frightened to enter. The officer was about 5’ 10, had a blond brush cut and unless Danny’s eyes were deceiving him, had a few pimples on his cheeks.

Danny had been at his desk monitoring his team on the radio and listening to Steve giving his usual terse instructions over the comms system.

“Yes, Officer…?”

“Mayes, sir. David Mayes.”

Danny gave the young man an encouraging smile.

“Are you new Mayes? I don’t think I’ve met you yet.”

A tentative smile flashed over the young man’s face

“Um, yes sir. I graduated from the academy a month ago.”

Danny sighed quietly. He suddenly felt very old and very broken down.

“Well, what can I do for you officer?”

Mayes swallowed heavily and shifted from one foot to the other.

“Well I’m…I’ve been working the front desk this week, you know we take turns being assigned to that, it’s good training for dealing with the public and I don’t mind…”

“Mayes!” Danny interrupted as gently as he could. He didn’t have time for this kid’s long-winded story. “Was there something you wanted to tell me?”

Mayes blushed and looked down at the floor.

“Er, yes sir. As I said I was working at the front desk and I got a call I thought you’d want to hear about.”

The young man stopped talking and Danny waited expectantly. When no further information was offered Danny rolled his eyes and huffed in annoyance.

“Yes, and…?”

“The caller said ‘tell Five-0 that Jian Kwan is in Makakilo.” Mayes held up a piece of paper. “The caller gave me the address.”

Danny stood up from behind his desk and stalked over to Mayes taking the paper from his hand and checking the address. He knew the area. A mixture of older, post-war homes with some newer developments. Very quiet, lots of families with young children. The perfect place for a guy like Jian Kwan to hide in plain sight. Danny looked up at the young officer.

“Alright Mayes, good work. Grab yourself a tac vest and meet me downstairs in five minutes.” Danny pushed past the young officer to get his own tac vest from the storage cabinet.

“Me sir?” Mayes squeaked, his eyes wide. “But I…you have a cast…”

“Hey, kid,” Danny interrupted without turning around from pulling his vest out of the storage cupboard. “I’m offering you the chance to get some action. You want to come or not?”

Mayes paused briefly, probably trying to determine if Danny was crazy or not, then nodded.

“Yes sir. I-I’ll get a patrol car and meet you downstairs.”

Danny nodded as he pulled a shotgun from the cabinet.

“You do that. Remember to tell the desk sergeant where you’re going. Ask him to send back up to that address as well.”

“Yes sir.”

**********

Steve handed over his prisoner to a nearby HPD officer and marched over to join the other members of the team who were gathered near Steve’s truck. 

“Kwan?” Steve demanded of his team members, each of whom shook their heads in denial. The head of the local Tong had not been found on the property.

“Damn it!” The Commander hissed running his fingers through his hair in annoyance.

“We’ll get him Steve,” Lou assured him.

Steve snorted, then shook his head visibly forcing himself to relax.

“Yeah. I guess. Anyway…good work,” Steve said almost reluctantly. He had a tough time thinking of the mission as a success when their main target evaded capture. Steve gave his team a forced smile.

“At least 10 girls will be going home to their families thanks to us.”

Kono who had been leaning against Steve’s truck glaring at him, straightened up with a jerk and strode over to him stopping barely a foot away.

“I’m so glad you’re pleased Commander,” the young officer snapped. “Glad to think we’re not entirely useless to you.”

Steve’s face twisted in confusion as he stared down at Kono in shock.

“What?”

“You really take the cake, you know that?” Kono sneered. “Do you even think about the stuff that comes out of your mouth?”

Steve looked over at Lou and Chin as if searching for answers but the two men had wisely stepped back away from the situation. They were a team and they had each other’s backs, but not when Kono was angry. Then it was every man for himself. Steve looked back at Kono with trepidation.

“Kono, what are you talking about?”

Kono jabbed him in the chest with her index finger causing the taller man to flinch visibly.

“I love you like a brother, Steve, and I respect the hell out of you but you can be a really arrogant ass sometimes. You don’t get to sit on your high horse and pretend these kinds of cases are harder on you than they are on the rest of us. We all walk on egg shells around you when we get a case like this. That’s bad enough, but to say what you said to Danny today, just because you’re frustrated, that’s unforgivable.”

Steve stared down at the Hawaiian officer in genuine confusion.

“What did I say to Danny?”

The young woman threw her arms out to the side in disgust.

“Oh my god, you don’t even remember what you said?” she all but screeched.

Steve swallowed nervously. He looked up at Chin and Lou for help but they were pretending to find the hood of Steve’s truck fascinating. He turned his attention back to a now livid Kono.

“Um…no?”

Kono jammed her fists on her hips and gave Steve a look that would melt paint off a wall.

“You called him useless. In front of all of us you called him useless. If you’d said that to me I would have popped you one.”

Steve replayed the morning in the office until he remembered what he’d said. His stomach flipped at the memory but he gave the young officer a nervous smile.

“Kono, Danny knows I didn’t mean it. We talk that way to each other all the time. It’s no big deal.”

“You didn’t see the look on his face,” Kono growled back. “This went way beyond your usual banter and insults. You hurt him and you embarrassed him.” Kono took a step towards Steve again and he had to force himself not to step away. “You went too far and you’d better fix this Steve!”

With one final, withering look, Kono turned and stormed towards her car ripping off her tac vest as she moved. Chin hurried after her leaving Lou staring at Steve.

“Lou? Come on…Danny didn’t….he wasn’t really hurt was he?” Steve asked defensively.

Lou shrugged his shoulders lightly.

“He wanted to come on this raid even though he was injured, just so he wouldn’t let you down. Then you called him useless. Yeah, I think he was hurt.”

“Well shit!” growled Steve. Sometimes he missed his days as a SEAL when his men obeyed him without question and he didn’t have to worry about saying the wrong thing or hurting people's feelings. Then again, his Five-0 team was the best and Danny was…well Danny was the best too.

“Come on,” Steve sighed, tugging at the straps of his tac vest. “Let’s head back to the office. I think I have some groveling to do.”

Steve and Lou climbed into Steve’s Silverado and were about to pull out of the parking lot when Duke rushed over waving at Steve to get his attention. Steve put the truck in park and turned off the engine. He rolled down the window to talk to the HPD sergeant. 

“Duke? What’s up?”

Duke stopped next to Steve’s driver’s side door.

“Steve, I just heard a call requesting back up to an address in Makakilo. Apparently there were shot’s fired.”

“OK?” Steve wondered why Duke was mentioning this to him. These sorts of things were HPD’s responsibility.

“The officer who called it in said he was with Danny.”

Steve felt his heart stutter in his chest.

“What? That can’t be. Danny is back at the office. He's got a broken arm.”

Duke shook his head and grabbed the truck’s door frame.

“It is Danny, Steve. Apparently he and the officer he was with got wind of where Kwan was staying. They went to check it out.”

Steve tightened his jaw and wrapped his hands around the steering wheel in a death grip.

“Why the hell would he…?” 

Steve reached over to start the truck again.

“Duke, text me the address.”

The HPD sergeant had barely taken his hands away from the door frame when Steve put the truck in gear and roared out of the parking lot, siren blaring.

**********

When Steve’s truck came to a tire-screaming stop in front of the bungalow in Makakilo it was obvious that whatever had happened was over. Cops were coming and going from the small, wood-framed house and an ambulance was waiting outside. Steve felt his stomach turn over. What if Danny was…? He shook his head and climbed out of the truck, Lou close behind him.

Steve elbowed his way past two cops standing guard at the front door and entered the living room of the house. It took only a second to examine the scene. A man, Kwan it appeared, lay on the floor with blood running from a wound in his head. Two paramedics were patching him up and readying him for transport. A young police officer sat in a nearby chair holding a bloody towel to his arm. Danny sat in another chair, his broken arm lying on his lap, the remains of his cast in pieces on the floor. Steve swept his eyes up and down his partner’s body checking for other wounds. There appeared to be none. Steve stalked over to his partner and glared down at him, hands on his hips.

“Danny,” he spoke with deceptive calmness. “Care to tell me what you’re doing here when I left you back at the office nursing a broken arm?”

Danny looked up at his partner coldly. Despite his attempt to look dispassionate, Steve could see he was in pain.

“We got word that Kwan was in this house so we came to check it out. Everything was going fine until Officer Mayes got hit…” Danny pressed his lips together for a moment and glanced over to Mayes.

Steve also looked over at the officer who was being led on unsteady feet out of the house by a sergeant.

“You and that boy?”

“And a couple of other cops from HPD. I, at least, know when to call for back up. Anyway, Mayes turned away from Kwan when he shouldn’t have, Kwan pulled a gun and shot at him and I hit Kwan over the head with my casted arm. I think I fractured his skull.”

Steve felt the worry and fear that had been eating at him on the drive to the house now morph into anger.

“Where the hell do you get off answering a potentially dangerous call when you’re injured? You should have…”

The rest of Steve’s words were stopped by a hand on his arm. He looked back at Lou in annoyance.

“Time for yelling later,” Lou cautioned. “He needs to get to the hospital and get his arm reset. He’s obviously in pain.”

With a great effort of will, Steve swallowed down his rage and turned back to his partner. He reached down and took the smaller man by the good arm and pulled him gently to his feet. He helped Danny cradle his mangled arm with one hand and put the other around his friend’s waist to provide him support.

“Come on. I’m taking you to the hospital and get your arm reset. After that you and I are going to talk.”

**********

Danny lay on the gurney waiting for the nurse to come with his discharge papers. The cast had been replaced, he had a prescription for painkillers in his pocket and he was ready to go home and climb into bed. He had hoped that his little chat with Steve could wait till the next day but that hope was dashed when the door to the treatment room flew open and Steve stomped in glowering darkly.

“What’s going on? Where’s the doctor?” Steve demanded, his hands fisted on his hips.

Danny tightened his jaw at his partner’s high handed manner.

“He’s signing my discharge papers Steven. Don’t come in here all Lieutenant Commander and start barking at me. I’ve had enough of your military man bullshit for one day.”

Steve glared at his partner.

“Forgive me for being worried. This morning I left you in the office with a broken arm. This afternoon I find out you went on a call and almost got killed. What the hell were you thinking going to follow up that lead when you were injured?”

Danny’s eyes flashed with barely suppressed rage and he sat up slightly on the gurney.

“What was I thinking? I’ll tell you what I was thinking. I was thinking I’m an experienced detective and I’ve got a lead on the main suspect in our case, maybe I should check it out? I was thinking that despite what some might think, I’m not helpless or useless.”

Steve froze for a minute and stared at Danny. As if a switch had been thrown, Steve’s anger fled and his shoulders slumped. He rubbed his hands over his face tiredly.

“Danny…if this is about this morning, what I said, I’m sorry I…”

“Oh, no Steven,” Danny interrupted, his words spitting out. “You shouldn’t be apologizing to me. I should apologize to you.”

Steve swallowed hard and cocked his head at his partner. He had no idea where Danny was going with this but he knew it wouldn’t end well.

“Oh?”

“I should apologize for being a weak and frail human being,” Danny continued, his good hand flattened on his chest. “For allowing myself to be injured and throwing your plans out of whack. I should have been like you, a tough, nails-chewing Navy SEAL instead of a big baby with a boo-boo.”

“Danny…”

“You would have patched your arm up with two twigs and a torn piece of your shirt. Then you’d have finished the game and jogged to the hospital whereas I, frail ‘useless’ Danny had to be taken there by a teammate and get my arm casted. I’m so, so sorry my silly accident put a hitch in the raid you planned and I couldn’t just shake off my owie the way you would have.”

Danny dropped back on the gurney and looked away, his breath coming raggedly. He was angry and hurt and embarrassingly, almost close to tears. Stupid painkillers.

Steve stood in the middle of the exam room, his hands shoved deep in his pockets as he stared at his partner. He took a cautious few steps closer to the gurney Danny lay on but the detective refused to meet his eyes.

“Danny,” Steve began softly. “I’m sorry for what I said this morning. It was stupid and thoughtless and I obviously didn’t mean it. I don’t think for a minute you’re useless. You’re one of the toughest people I know and I can always count on you.”

Danny lay quietly, his lips pressed together. Finally he glanced at Steve and away.

“We tease each other and say stupid things all the time but that was…you humiliated me and it hurt,” Danny voice was laced with hurt.

“I know. And I’m sorry. I really wasn’t thinking. I was keyed up and…I know I can get too intense. I take cases too personally and it can make me a jerk sometimes. Believe me, Kono explained it all in detail to me this afternoon.”

Danny couldn’t help the small smile that lifted the corners of his mouth. He had no doubt that Kono had ripped Steve a new one. Danny had been on the receiving end of a couple of Kono’s tirades and it hadn’t been pretty.

Danny looked up as Steve stepped forward and put a hand on Danny’s shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

“I just…I was upset when I saw you had a cast on your arm. Not because of the raid but because I didn’t know you’d been hurt and I hadn’t been there to help you. Why didn’t you call me last night?”

Danny snorted softly.

“Because I already had someone to take me to the hospital and because I thought you’d do your usual over protective, mother hen thing. Guess I was wrong about that.”

Steve squeezed Danny’s shoulder again.

“You weren’t wrong. I would have taken care of you, just like you would have taken care of me. In fact you’re coming back to my place for a few days until I’m sure you’re alright.”

Danny glared up at the SEAL.

“No Steven, I’m not. I have a broken arm I’m not missing a limb.”

Steve let go of Danny’s shoulder and folded his arms obstinately on his chest.

“I’m your partner and your best friend. It’s my job to look after you and that’s what I’m going to do. You either come to my place or I stay at yours. Either way is fine but my being there is not up for debate.”

Danny examined Steve closely for a long moment.

“If this is because you feel obligated…”

Steve uncrossed his arms and put one hand on Danny’s shoulder again and the other on top of Danny’s good hand giving it a squeeze.

“It’s because you’re my best friend and I care about you and I want to make sure you’re all right. Something I neglected to do this morning. Humour me please.”

Danny took in a deep breath and let it out slowly before nodding once.

“Fine. But two days. That’s it. I don’t want your gigantic frame flopped all over my furniture and eating all my food for days on end.”

Steve couldn’t help smiling broadly at that.

“I’ll stay as long as I feel it’s necessary and until I’m sure you’re OK and can manage on your own.”

Danny snorted and shook his head in disbelief.

“You’re the only guy I know who can go from asshole to hero in the space of a few hours. Sometimes I truly hate you.”

Steve lifted his hand from Danny’s shoulder and scrubbed it fondly through his partner’s hair causing the blond man to growl in annoyance.

“No you don’t Danno. You love me. Just like I love you.”

 

The end.


End file.
